Insular Scots comprises varieties of
Lowland Scots generally subdivided into:
*
Shetland dialect
*
Orcadian dialect
Both dialects share much
Norn vocabulary, Shetland dialect more so, than does any other Scots dialect, perhaps because they were both under strong Norwegian
influence in their recent past.
[McColl Millar. 2007. Northern and Insular Scots. Edinburgh: University Press Ltd. p.5] In ancient times, Pictish was spoken in the islands. With Viking settlement of the islands came the establishment of Norn-speaking communities. Although the islands thereafter owed allegiance to Norway, they became politically involved with Scotland. Scotland then annexed the islands in 1472, after which Scots replaced Norwegian as the dominant language.
It should not be confused with the vernacular of the
Islands of the Clyde.
References
{{Shetland-stub
Culture of Shetland
Culture of Orkney
Scots dialects